The present application relates to applications entitled xe2x80x9cElectronic Message Payload for Interfacing with Text Contained in the Messagexe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9cMethod and Article of Manufacture for a Sub-Browser Application Program Stored in an Electronic Messagexe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9cMethod and Article of Manufacture for Delaying Advertisement Execution in a Geometric Electronic Media Distribution Frameworkxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9cTextual Hyperlink Capable of Inputting Text as a Parameter while Executing an Associated Linkxe2x80x9d, and xe2x80x9cMethod and Apparatus for the Production, Delivery, and Receipt of Enhanced E-Mailxe2x80x9d which were filed concurrently herewith and are incorporated herein in their entirety.
The present invention relates to e-Conmerce and more particularly to preventing unwanted electronic messages, or xe2x80x9cspamxe2x80x9d, from being proliferated on a network.
Computer technology is continuously advancing, providing newer computer systems with continuously improved performance. One result of this improved performance is an increased use of computer systems by individuals in a wide variety of business, academic and personal applications. In some instances, these computer systems are linked together by a network or modems so that the systems can communicate with each other via electronic mail.
Electronic mail, or xe2x80x9ce-mailxe2x80x9d, has become a popular way for people to communicate using networks of various types such as the Internet. Using e-mail, a person can send messages and other information as attachments electronically to other e-mail users. Such attachments normally include pictures, sound recordings, formatted documents, etc. that are in digital form, and which are executable independent of the opening and reading of the message included with the e-mail.
The recent explosion in the popularity of the Internet has provided tremendous potential for marketing goods and services. However, for most small to mid-sized companies, advertising their wares and services through a web-site on the Internet has not proven to be very effective. One of the difficulties with advertising on the Internet is directing consumers to visit a particular web-site. The overabundance of web-site locations has created an information overload for many consumers.
E-mail is one possible solution for advertisers. Despite its allure, however, promotional e-mail is still frowned upon, and at present its content is generally limited to unformatted text without graphics which is often not personalized. Accordingly, promotional e-mail is often disregarded, and in almost all cases, is not propagated by the recipients themselves.
At the present, such promotional e-mail, or xe2x80x9cspamxe2x80x9d, has become such an annoyance to many users of e-mail that xe2x80x9clistsxe2x80x9d have formed. Such lists are often generated by users reporting unwanted e-mail to a central site which, in turn, uses filtering techniques or the like to prevent the proliferation of the unwanted email. While such xe2x80x9clistsxe2x80x9d are effective once the unwanted e-mail is disclosed, a problem often arises in reporting the unwanted e-mail.
Users are often very busy, and excuse unwanted e-mail rather that reporting the same due to the multiple user actions required for reporting. Namely, a user must often copy the domain name, exit an e-mail browser, initiate a network browser, locate the appropriate xe2x80x9clistxe2x80x9d site, and manually enter the domain name and any other required information. These tedious steps often serve as a deterrence to take action upon receiving an unwanted electronic message.
A system, method, and article of manufacture are provided for affording an application program with an electronic message to help preclude unwanted electronic messages from being sent on a network. First, at least one application program is initialized after an electronic message is selected by a user. Such application program is received with the electronic message on a network. After initialization, the application program is executed. The execution of the application program includes displaying text included with the electronic message, depicting indicia, and communicating an identifier of the electronic message on the network upon the selection of the indicia by the user for precluding unwanted electronic messages from being sent on the network.
In one aspect of the present invention, the identifier is generated by a server that sends the electronic message on the network to the user. As an option, the identifier may be stored in the application program to be sent upon the selection of the indicia.
In another aspect of the present invention, an amount of the identifiers that were sent by a plurality of users who received the electronic message may be tracked. Upon a predetermined amount of the identifiers being tracked, unwanted electronic messages may be prevented from being sent on the network.
As an option, the transmission of the unwanted electronic messages may be precluded by preventing the transmission of any subsequent electronic messages from a source of the original unwanted electronic message. Further, content of the electronic message may be received, thus allowing the prevention of transmission of any subsequent electronic messages having content substantially similar to the received content.